


Demon Daters Anonymous

by EllieRose101



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV)
Genre: F/M, Season/Series 02, Season/Series 03, Season/Series 04, Season/Series 05, Season/Series 06
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-04
Updated: 2020-03-04
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:00:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23012896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EllieRose101/pseuds/EllieRose101
Summary: Living on the Hellmouth, it was statistically probable that someone in the core Scooby gang would end up dating a demon but, when it happened to all three, a support group just had to be formed.
Relationships: Spike/Buffy Summers
Kudos: 31





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is set during the Season Two episode School Hard

“Ugh!” Buffy slapped down her lunch tray, making her apple juice spill over onto her sloppy joe. “I hate the Hellmouth!”

“Trouble?” asked Xander.

Buffy took some napkins from Willow and sat down to pat dry her food. “You remember last year we were talking about never having a happy, normal relationship?”

“Right,” said Xander. “With the doom. How could we forget?”

Willow shuddered at the recollection. “Is there a problem with Angel?”

“ _Please,_ ” said Buffy, “as if I know. He never tells me what he’s thinking, or how he feels, and I never know where we stand.”

Xander and Willow shared a look, then he said, “If this isn’t exactly new, what’s with the grump?”

“Oh,” said Buffy, faux-perkily. “You remember last night at the Bronze when I went outside to kill a demon? I met a guy. Total hottie and way interested in me. He wants to see me Saturday.”

“And?” pressed Willow, gently.

Buffy scowled again. “Vampire. Because, of course.” Willow gave her arm a reassuring rub and Buffy took a bite of her sloppy joe only to set it down again. “Guys, I gotta ask Giles about this. I just don’t know how the other girls did it.”

“What do you mean, Buff?” asked Xander.

“Dating. The whole relationships thing. How did the slayers before me find nice, normal boyfriends?”

Xander and Willow shared another look.

Buffy stared mutinously at them. “What?”

“Well, uh,” said Willow, “they probably didn’t, right?”

“Huh?”

“I’m just saying, the other slayers? They probably didn’t date – normal guys or otherwise.”

“Yeah,” said Xander. “You are the first one with friends, and the first allowed to keep contact with your mom and stuff. The other girls – they didn’t have lives like this.”

“Oh.” Buffy pushed her tray away entirely. This Spike guy had really gotten under her skin for some reason, and it was no fair. “You know what?” she said on the next breath, brightening up for real, “We need a support group.”

“Come again?” said Xander. “A support group for what?”

“Us,” said Buffy. “Think about it. We’re all navigating new territory with the dating thing, and the Hellmouth makes it all screwy. So, we need to help each other out. Promise to be a total judgment-free zone. We could be, like, Demon Daters Anonymous.”

“Nope,” said Xander. “No need for me. I’ve sworn off demons. I’m living totally demon-free.” Buffy eyed him speculatively and he added, “Well, at least that’s the plan.”

“Obviously none of us are _trying_ to date demons,” said Buffy, “But you gotta admit it keeps happening. So….”

“So, when it does,” Willow continued, clearly warming up to the idea, “We talk about it and make sure none of us loses our heads – literally or figuratively.”

“Right,” said Buffy. “Demon Daters Anonymous, that’s us.”

“We’re not exactly keeping our identities secret,” Willow pointed out.

“So, we’re… nonymous?” questioned Xander. Willow stared blankly at him and he clarified, “The opposite of anonymous. Like amoral is the opposite of moral and atheism is the opposite of theism and–“

“No, sweetie,” said Willow with a sympathetic shake of her head.

“I’m not sure that’s a thing,” agreed Buffy.

“Maybe the anonymous part can be that we don’t tell Giles,” suggested Willow, suddenly enthused again. “All in favor?”

All three of them raised their hands.

“Motion passed and carried,” said Buffy. “Let’s hope Xander’s right and we don’t actually need to call on each other.”

“Hey, I haven’t attracted a demon in a good while!”

“Maybe our luck is turning,” said Willow.

“Maybe,” said Buffy, but she didn’t feel too confident.

“Are you all set for your exchange student?” asked Willow, changing the subject.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Set during Season Three, after Lover’s Walk  
> This is where the canon divergence begins, but it’s gentle at first.

“So…” said Buffy, passing around the popcorn bowl, “I guess now is one of those times where we need a Demon Daters Anonymous meeting.”

Xander shook his head and set the video rentals aside. “This wasn’t exactly a demon problem. I wasn’t even dating a–” A look from Willow cut him off and he swallowed. “Come on, we can’t make Cordelia-is-a-demon jokes now. She’s hurt and….” He winced. “Hurt.”

“Right.” Willow looked away.

“But, um–” Buffy tried valiantly to think of a straw to clutch. _Anything_ that might cheer her friends up. “Ooh, you know whose fault this really is? Spike! Can we have a meeting just to hate on him?”

“Oh, you bet,” said Willow, looking up again. “Big dumb vampire guy. Did I tell you he threatened me with a bottle?”

“That’s nothing!” said Buffy. “He totally made me and Angel realize we can’t be friends, _and_ he asked me out.”

“Whoa!” exclaimed Willow. “Angel asked you out again?”

Buffy cringed. “Uh… no?”

Xander blinked at her. “Buffy? What are you–” His eyes widened. “No!”

“No?” questioned Willow, looking between them. “No what? What am I missing?”

Buffy drew in a deep breath and spelled it out for her. “Spike. He, uh, might have asked me on a date.” Both Willow and Xander’s mouths hung open and she was quick to clarify that she said no.

“He was all like, ‘Can I see you on Saturday?’ and I said ‘Huh?’ and he said, ‘Saturday. Let me take you out.’” She shuddered. “It was way wiggy.”

“I don’t understand,” said Willow. “He was all upset about Drusilla and… I really don’t understand.”

“Yeah,” said Buffy. “Turns out, the whole reason Dru dumped his ass is because he has ‘feelings’ for me.” She shuddered again then wondered if she was overdoing it. “Can you believe that?”

“I can believe someone having feelings for you, yeah,” said Xander. “Totally.”

Buffy felt herself blush.

“But it’s Spike!” exclaimed Willow. “Bottle-in-face Spike! Why was he bothering with a love spell if he–”

Buffy held up her hands. “Do _not_ ask me. Spike logic and Buffy logic live on different continents.”

Willow took a piece of popcorn and chewed it thoughtfully. “I guess it is nice to have an admirer, even if it’s someone you don’t want.”

“I guess,” said Buffy, suddenly regretting bringing it up. _Because I so do not want Spike. At all. I’m not even a little bit flattered. Even if he does look yummy and makes me feel admired in such a weird way, when all Angel does is make me feel crappy and– nope. I’m cutting that thought off at the root._ She picked up the videos Xander had laid aside. “So, uh, what are we watching?”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Set during Season Four, after Something Blue  
> In which canon really gets tossed out the window.

Demon Daters Anonymous meetings had become an almost hourly occurrence since Willow and Oz breakup 2.0: Revenge of the Werewolf. That had been bad enough, but now there was the whole Spike/Buffy faux engagement to deconstruct and they had to do it with Spike right there because Giles had gone out for an eye appointment and didn’t want him left alone.

_Seriously,_ thought Buffy. _What is my life?_

Spike was staring at her with a thousand emotions painted across his face and it was doing nothing to stop the tingles she could still feel in her lips. Buffy got the sense he wanted to talk to her alone, but she didn’t want that. Couldn’t risk that. He’d been far too tempting before the spell – with his professions of love, helping the gang take the Initiative down, and generally trying to be good – but now she knew how he kissed and what his hands felt like in hers and had had him whispering all kinds of things in her ear for hours on end…. _Guhh!_ Nope. She did not trust herself one bit.

Xander was complaining about the unfairness of him having been labeled the demon magnet, when all three of them were in the group, and Willow was still trying to get them to eat cookies to make herself feel less guilty while Buffy was all up in her head. How bad was it that she was drowning out her friends with thoughts of Spike naked, and Spike in a tux, and Spike dancing with her at the Bronze, and– God, was she drooling?

“Listen,” said Spike, breaking through all the chatter, “What’s it gonna take for a bloke to get a real chance? You can’t leave me like this.”

Buffy swallowed. She should have realized that he’d eventually run out of patience and just start off talking whether her friends were there or not. Suddenly, she didn’t want them around to hear what he had to say.

“She _can_ leave you all right,” said Xander. “You’re tied to that chair for a reason, Mister.”

Spike rolled his eyes. “How many bloody times? I’m tied here because good old Rupes doesn’t trust me. That’s his issue, not mine.”

“Gee,” said Xander, “I wonder why he doesn’t trust you.”

“I’ve reformed,” said Spike through gritted teeth. “What’s the last evil thing you saw me do, eh?”

Xander opened his mouth to answer but struggled to actually come up with one.

“Exactly,” said Spike. “Now bugger off, I wasn’t talking to you. Buffy–”

She stood up and started to pace. “No. I can’t hear this.”

“Is it because of Angel?” Spike pressed. “I know he got you all twisted before, pet, but–”

“No,” Buffy said again. Her palms were itchy and it was taking all her strength not to cross the short distance and run her fingers through his hair. If he told her he loved her one more time, she would break for sure.

“Bloody hell, you want a soul, is that it?”

Buffy stopped pacing and gaped at him. “What?”

“If it’s what it takes, I’ll go and get a sodding soul – one that won’t fall off at the first shag.”

“That– that’s not–” stammered Buffy, her brain coming to a screeching halt. “That’s not a thing.”

“ _Please_ ,” said Spike. “You think Angel’s little cursed variety is the only kind? There’s this demon in Africa I’ve heard about. All you gotta do is–”

“Stop,” Buffy petitioned him afresh. “Please j-just stop. Are you serious?”

He regarded her silently. Unblinking. And wow, he really did mean it.

But, no. That didn’t make any sense. Because if it was possible to get an uncursed soul somehow, why hadn’t Angel tried to fix his? It might not have worked, but he hadn’t tried. He hadn’t been willing to do that for them – for her – and here Spike was, supposedly still evil and offering to put himself through that? 

Buffy’s heart skipped a beat. Before she knew what she was doing, she was crossing the room and undoing his ropes. Spike stood up and stretched out his neck, like he was bracing himself. His jaw was set and eyes were questioning. 

“That it, then? I’m headed on my merry way?”

She shook her head, not trusting herself to speak. He didn’t need a soul. The fact that he would even– She cut her internal monologue off with another shake of her head and pressed her needy lips to his, not caring that Xander and Willow were right there. Not caring about anything except finally giving into everything her blood screamed for. 

Spike practically purred against her lips and, god, it was even better than before. When he pulled back, panting, he looked at her earnestly. “Does this mean you want me to go, or–”

Buffy pulled him tightly to herself again. “You are not going anywhere!”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Set during Season Five, after Buffy vs. Dracula   
> Canon is now way behind us in the rearview mirror.

Buffy scanned the Bronze’s dance floor before spotting her friends on the couch in the corner and making her way over, inserting herself between them.

“You’re back!” exclaimed Willow. “Welcome back! How was it? Where did you go? What did you do? How was–” Xander stared at her and she broke off, smiling. “I got a little excited.”

Buffy grinned back at her. “I can tell.”

“So…” said Willow. “When did you get back? And where’s Spike?”

“Bar,” said Buffy. “And, like, two hours ago.”

“Two hours?” Willow frowned. “Why are we only seeing you now?”

“If the answer to that question is that you were off having sex,” said Xander, “please feel free to ignore it and move on to one of the other ones.”

Buffy grinned wider and hugged them close. “Oh, I’ve missed you guys!” Upon releasing Xander, she noted his pale awkwardness and rolled her eyes. “That wasn’t me avoiding the question. There were no sexcapades.” _This time._ “I kinda got caught up with Dracula.”

“Dracula?” Xander questioned. “As in, the actual Dracula?”

“The actual guy,” affirmed Buffy. “We were doing a quick patrol on our way over here and he shows up, tries to do some whammy on me and gives a big speech about hunting vs. slaying blah blah blah. Totally didn’t notice Spike at first but way wigged out when he did. They used to know each other, way back when, and apparently he’s the real deal. Except for all the ‘parlor tricks’ or whatever. Spike says it’s just window dressing.”

“Wow, Buff. I’m kinda nerding out on your behalf. I mean, Dracula!”

She shrugged. “He’s no big deal.”

“Is that present tense?” asked Willow. “You didn’t stake him?”

“Only about seven times,” said Buffy. “It didn’t really take.”

“Huh.” Both Willow and Xander took a moment to process that, then Willow went right back to asking for the details of Buffy and Spike’s vacation.

“More like Slay-cation,” said Buffy. “As soon as we crossed the border – wham! – practically ran into a convoy of evil biker demons. Or, uh…” she grinned again, “…ran through them. Spike was cleaning blood off the hood of the car for a week.”

Xander grimaced. “Okay, you’ve been spending way too much time with that guy, because gore never used to give you moon eyes.”

“I do not have moon eyes for demon gunk! It was just… I don’t know, _fun_. And I know that sounds weird. Do me a favor and try not to overanalyze it, okay?”

Xander still looked bewildered, but he let it be.

“So you went over the border?” Willow continued. “How far? And there were more demons than just the bikers – further down?”

Buffy laughed. “You’re really determined to get all the details, aren’t you?”

Willow looked bashful. “Well, we missed you too.”

“And what she really wants to ask you about is all the juicy Spike gossip,” said Xander. “This is her warm-up act.”

Willow lightly slapped his arm.

“Hey!”

Buffy rolled her eyes at both of them. “Spike and me are good. Better, even. This summer was the best one I think I’ve ever had, even with all the demons and…” she sighed wistfully as she watched him carry over their drinks “…and I’m totally, completely, head-over-heels, madly in love with him.”

Spike closed the distance and passed Buffy her drink. “Talking about me, were you?”

“Yep,” said Buffy, brightly. _As if he didn’t know._ She leaned up to kiss him, only catching the looks on Willow and Xander’s face when she pulled away again: Willow all lit up with the second-hand light of love and Xander looking vaguely ill. Willow jabbed him in the ribs and he forced a smile.

Spike took Buffy’s hand, ignoring both of them. “You want to dance, love?”

She stood up and kissed him again. “Definitely.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Set during Season Six, after [a slightly AU version of] All The Way (in which there was much less angst). Any canon changes should have made themselves obvious at this point, while the key parts have stayed the same.

While Spike frog-marched Dawn upstairs and started in on his third ‘You should be more careful, what the hell were you thinking?’ speech since they’d left the driveway, Buffy, Willow, and Xander settled themselves on the living room couches.

“Who knew Spike could be Mr. Responsibility?” quipped Xander.

“Me,” said Buffy pointedly. “And you, too! You let him take care of her all summer.”

“Well, yeah,” said Xander, “because he already lived here and–” Buffy glared and he held up his hands. “Okay, fine. He’s a good guy, I admit it.”

Buffy’s face didn’t get any less gloomy. She grudgingly pulled a five-dollar bill from her pocket and handed it to a grinning Willow.

Xander blinked at both of them. “You two were betting on me?”

“Uh-huh,” said Willow. “I knew you’d have to drop the act eventually and admit that you like Spike as much as the rest of us.”

Dismayed by the accusation, Xander swiftly changed the subject. “So... Dawn, huh?” he began. “Making out with a vampire. Tsk tsk. Are we gonna have to grant her honorary membership to Demon Daters Anonymous now?" 

Buffy laughed. “God, I’d forgotten all about that!” She shook her head. “But, no,” she added, more seriously. “It’s probably about time we disband, now I think about it.”

“What?” said Willow, eyes suddenly wide. “You and Spike aren’t–”

“We’re _fine_ ,” Buffy assured her. “I mean, sure, me dying did put a damper on things for a while. But we’re past that now, and probably actually stronger than we were even last year.”

“Wow,” said Willow, dreamily.

“Yeah,” agreed Buffy, equally wistful. “But anyway, that’s why I’m all for disbanding. I mean, look at us. Spike and me: better than ever.” She looked at Willow. “You and Tara are great, and–” she squeezed Xander’s hand. “Our little carpenter’s all grow-ed up. Engaged and everything.”

Xander and Willow smiled back at her.

“I guess you’re right,” said Willow. “I really haven’t been happier.”

“It’s like we won the dating game,” said Xander. “Who even knew that was possible?”

“Not us,” said Buffy, laughing. “And as for Dawn: I think she’s learned her lesson but, as graduates, we can all guide her towards a happy, healthy relationship of her own.”

“Even if it’s with a vampire?” Xander questioned.

Buffy grimaced, pondering her response carefully. She couldn’t exactly say no, outright, even if that was her gut reaction. “I guess we’ll have to see,” she allowed, finally.

“Over my dead body,” said Spike, joining them. He settled beside Buffy and kissed her forehead. “She’s gone to bed.”

Buffy smiled up at him and linked their hands. Sometimes even now she found it hard to believe she was so lucky. _I guess happy-ever-afters on the Hellmouth aren’t so impossible after all._


End file.
